(first posted 8/13/2012. The original post called it the “Camaro Hawaiian”)

There were a lot of things happening culturally in 1967, but Detroit wasn’t always exactly on the leading edge. While the kids were celebrating the Summer of Love in San Francisco, Chevrolet was playing up the lure of the tropical islands, which had its heyday in the forties and fifties. OK; Hawaii is always appealing. But couldn’t they at least have shot their 1967 Camaro “Waikiki” concept on Waikiki Beach instead of the scruffy grassy banks of what I think is the Detroit River? Now I might be wrong on that, having never been there, but it sure don’t look like Hawaii, where I have been. And the surfing is not likely to be so hot.

The illusion of the beach scene circa 1967 was further hampered by the GM wardrobe department: that bathing suit is sooo 1952. Come on, Chevy; bikinis have been around for several decades. And that thing on the trailer: some sort of proto-jet ski? Now that interests me more than the Di-Noc slathered Camaro or the prim girl.

Everyone is having a good time pretending they’re 6000 miles away, despite the smoggy haze. And I guess it’s safe to assume that the Camaro Waikiki didn’t make a very lasting impression. Oh well. Maybe you should try a Revolutionary War-themed Camaro?

Since we’re looking at 1967 Camaros and we’re doing beaches, might as well trot out this ad from 1967. What? No long hair? And no girls at all?

Oh, I get it. Chevy finally saw the light, and wanted to be well ahead of the next big wave with this one, targeting the nascent gay market. It pays to be a risk-taking pioneer!

And other customized cars used squared headlights like this Barris 70-X Oldsmobile Toronado showed at Expo ’67 http://www.schmitt.com/viewimage.asp?ID=4031 (and speaking of Toronado, there was the customized roadster used in the 1st season of the tv series Mannix).

Well, at least the lovely ladies didn’t jump into that circa 1967 water! I’m thinking of what Colonel Kilgore of Apocalypse Now fame would have thought of that beachfront with no killer break……..possibly the River Rouge and Highland Park furnaces knocked the wind right out!

Was Bill Mitchell a man who liked woodgrain side panels? 2 years removed from the Mako Shark II, I just can’t see him approving of this treatment……….That surfboard rack is an interesting design, though.

There plenty of Mitchell touches though, the “european” driving lights, the real wire wheels, the shaggy carpet and wood wheel are all Mitchell M/O’s. Mitchell did all sorts of color combos on cars, depending on what he felt like.

The Hawaiian was a Chevrolet concept car shown that year at car shows, fairs, and in the press. To the best of my knowledge, these are the only press photos of it that GM released. There was no such production car, and no ads. This is it.

The budget for this thing was obviously minimal, as were the changes to the car. And the budget obviously didn’t include shipping it to Hawaii.

It’s definitely Detroit in the background. You can barely make out the Ambassador Bridge in the first photo (upper left). It could be Belle Isle or Windsor, but I suspect Belle Isle from the angle of the photographs.

There’s actually a bigger story behind this: Chevrolet had a rep for being particularly conservative in its advertising and marketing. I challenge you to find another youth-oriented sporty car PR/ad picture from 1967 with such a prim young woman at “the beach”.

DeLorean wrote about this extensively, how shocked he was at the state of Chevrolet advertising/marketing when he moved there in 1969. And I’ve found a blog by a guy who shot many Chevy ads back then, he confirmed the same thing. The ad agency guys were constantly suggesting “racier” or more contemporary approaches to the photo shoots and ads, but were shot down most of the time.

Compare Chevy and Pontiac ads from the 1963 – 1969 era, and it will become quite apparent.

The point I’m making is not that Chevy should have used hippies in their ads in 1967, but they certainly should have been hipper. The “Hawaiian” makes that painfully obvious.

Along with (in)famous GTO advertising like the ‘You know the rest of the story’ 1968 GTO on Woodward Avenue magazine ad or the 1970 GTO Super Bowl commercial with ‘The Humbler’ cruising a drive-in for a race that were quickly and unceremoneously yanked, one of the best stories DeLorean had about a proposed GTO ad that never ran was a simple photo showing a small boy with a pale of water standing in front of a GTO in a driveway with the caption, “A boy and his Goat”.

When GM brass saw it, they were outraged. They lambasted the ad agency by saying, “You can’t call one of our cars a goat!”. They didn’t understand that the term wasn’t derogatory but GTOs were just known as Goats on the street. Instead, they came out with the rather lame ‘Great One’ ad campaign, instead.

I remember the “Command Performance” print ad firsthand, seeing it in car mags etc, in 1967.

But I also remember Chevrolet TV ads…where they existed, such as they were, pretty much sucked 1966-68. That struck me as a kid…especially in contrast to Ford and MoPar…with their catchy jingles or pop culture tie-ins.

Aaron Severson mentions John DeLorean’s dismay at Chevrolet advertising in Ate Up With Motor’s history of the late-sixties Impala…stating much of the ad budget was “squandered on side projects for division management”.

I’m late to the party on this one but long hair was not accepted by many “older” people back then. Like my parents. Look at photos taken at events during the era and you will still see many young men with short hair or “block” cuts. By the early seventies society was more accepting of long hair on men.

As for me and most of by male friends, we came from homes with strict parents and didn’t growing long hair until after graduating high school.

“…not everyone was a long haired hippy in 1967, in fact the majority of people weren’t.”

Neither was I. Sure loved the music of 1967, though.

I got my driver’s license when I turned 16 that year. I still sported a flat-top haircut until spring, 1968! Many men still wore hats – dad did, and for the last 10 years, so do I. I do have fairly short but combable gray hair – no more flat-top and no bald spot!

Paul, shame on you for making a “gay” comment about the last photo. The advertising at the time showed all young men dressed that way – it was the “norm” to be well-dressed. This was still the era of the “debonair”, James Bond-suave look. Sure, the ad may have been a bit behind the times, but the advertising world in many product ads projected an image for an older, more mature age group – perhaps late 20’s – early 30’s, an image of what they may have regarded as “class”.

Up to that time, many pop groups still sported coats and ties and dressed somewhat unifomally.

The Jet-Ski thing is a small powerboat. It would seat one in the hull, like a regular boat. I recall plans for building your own being published in Popular Mechanics or Popular Science. Maybe Mechanix Illustrated. Anyway, they used small outboards, in the range of 10HP and, because of their very small size, went very fast. Forget the generic name that was used for them, though. Looks like the outboard is actually mounted mid-ships on this one, though. Don’t recall that, maybe for balance?

The headlamps look like the Cibie units from the Renault 16 and other French cars of that era. Could be wrong. Possibly not quite wide enough, hard to tell.

The ads (fourth and fifth pictures) look like they were trying to sell to The Beach Boys of a couple of years earlier, or Jay And The Americans. Bands like that and their fans. No way was Steppenwolf or The Jefferson Airplane contemplated 🙂

Ha! I actually built one of these boats circa 1967 (I was 14 then). Not sure where my dad found the plans, but he encouraged me to build it as my first serious DIY project. When I finished it, he surprised me with a brand new 5HP outboard motor and a steering wheel.

I still remember handraulically screwing over 400 wood screws into this thing. And covering the wood hull with a couple of layers of fiberglass before painting it.

This little boat could indeed go quite fast once it lifted itself out of the water, skimming on a small part of the hull. It could only achieve lift on perfectly still water – it was completely useless on a windy day.

After a few years, it finally succumbed to a small leak into one of the sealed compartments, but it was a lot of fun while it lasted.

Here’s a picture taken of my little skimmer at our cottage (located on the Ottawa river), sitting on top of my Dad’s 1968 Chrysler Newport Custom.

I wonder what everyone was thinking around this time that made wood-paneled convertibles seem like such a good idea. The 68 Chrysler and Mercury offered a woodie convertible, but it was on the big cars. This Camaro with the DiNoc is just so wrong. But if it had come out, would woodie Mustangs and Barracudas have been far behind?

Paul, you are about a half a generation too young to make the distinction between “hippies” and “freaks”. Hippies were the back to the earth, off the grid a-holes who tolerated hairy-legged girlfriends/common law wives. Freaks were counter-culture, dope-smoking hipsters, and given the chance, would have loved a new 1967 Camaro or Mustang. But not with the fake tree on the side. Freaks did have standards.

Thanks for the compliment, but I’m not too old to know about that distinction. I came of age right in the heart of that era.

Truth is, the word “hippie” is perhaps the most misunderstood and misused word in modern history. The genuine hippies (actually called “Diggers”) marked “The Death of Hippie” right after the Summer of Love in 1967, because they knew it was over, thanks to the mass invasion of kids, hard drugs, and the media.

But the name has been used/abused by many, both as a self-adopted identity, or as a very broad or derisory label. Everyone seems to have their own definition of these terms, undoubtedly colored by their own experiences of the time, as well as their politics and values.

That era really marks the beginning of the great splintering of society into very many ever-smaller subsets. Your definitions are a wee bit too generic. There are conservatives and Libertarians who embrace “off-the-grid” living. Hairy legs: some of the girls in my high school adopted that, and they were quite sexy. Common law wives: that goes back a long way. And when it came to cars, there were always “freaks” who favored certain cars over others. Nothing new there. And freaks had standards? As in what kind of meth they preferred?

The labels “hippie” and such have been abused to death, but generic labels are too damn convenient to dispose. So help yourself.

There was a brilliant movie titled “It Was Twenty Years Ago Today”, which chronicles the Year 1967 through the impact of The Beatles album Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. It’s based on the book of the same name written by Beatles Publicist Derek Taylor. In depth, it focuses on The Diggers and Death of Hippy in additon to the other “Happenings” going on throughout the world in that year. The original footage of the protagonists then and later, in 1987 when this film was made is simply fascinating to watch. I think it was Peter Egan who wrote in one of his Road and Track Side Glances articles that he felt 67 was the best year for music. In seeing the original artists playing some of the best groundbreaking songs in this movie, I have to agree with Peter.

Paul, you are spot on correct with your observations of that year of years. I wonder if you have had the chance to see this movie? Today, it is considered a rare cult classic as it is not available on video. I was fortunate enough to tape it one night off our local PBS channel…….

Chevy did a couple of good ones like the 1969 “We’ll take on any other 2 cars in this magazine” with the 427 Corvette and 396 Camaro in a barn together, the “do not tease” 427 ad and the “tied down” 70 Chevelle SS

I read an article about this series of Chevelle SS ads, the car they used was a regular Malibu made up to look like an SS, they shot it on a movie studio backlot, and one of them came across all this thick Navy rope and they got the idea to “tie down” the Chevelle.

There was another ad that was proposed about the same time that showed the rear of Chevelle SS on the other side of a big ditch, with tire marks on both sides, ostensively implying that the car had the ability to leap across wide gulfs. I don’t remember what the issue was (my guess would be the lawyers were afraid someone would actually try it) so the only picture of the ad is in black and white and doesn’t have any copy. I think it’s out on the net, somewhere.

To me the music that was coming out of Detroit in the ’60s was way cooler and interesting than the one from the west coast hippie bands: Iggy and the Stooges, MC5 and most of all Motown Records…such a great time !

At least the hula girl looks like an authentic “hapa” wahine from here . . . . the “surfboard” ?? Proper surfboards of the day were tankers (9’5″ to 10′.5″). Smaller, swallow tailed, triple skegs didn’t come along until well into the seventies, and I can guarantee that anybody in real-life would not have an ironing-board stand with a sandy, salt-water dripping board, hanging over their top down nice Camaro. Yes, it’s show and make believe, but the consensus is that GM could’ve shot the promo pictures at least in SoCal (like the one ad with the “MFR” portion of the Black California plate blanked out.

It’s a joke that Paul refers to the boys in the ad as “pretty”, but I recall that was the normal “mod” guy look in the day . . .

Aloha Motors and Service Motor, Co. would’ve been the Chevy outlets on Oahu in the day. . . . . Now it’s Service Motor, Waipahu and Kaneohe and Cutter Chevrolet (“Are you ready to Chevy?”) . . . .

So I stumbled across this thru the search function, just for kicks after today’s earlier Camaro post I chimed in on.

It was never called the Camaro “Hawaiian”; in actuality they named it the Camaro Waikiki, just as you suggested it be shot at. Blame that on Dayton Wheels, the sponsor of this stupid contraption; they paid to have the car made and shown. As another poster asked upthread if those are Ciebe lamps, yes they are. Also, as a final note, the tail lamps were extended to near full width, a hideously ugly finale similar to the same era Thunderbirds.

Not all that incongruous. The bathing suits were out of place, but the shore of the Detroit River was a popular and accessible place for beach-style recreation. Lots of middle-class folks around the sides of Grosse Ile had a boathouse instead of a garage.

Surf boards aren’t incongruous on the banks of the Detroit River? I’m thinking hula skirts probably weren’t all that common either there in 1967. But what do I know about what’s congruous in Detroit? I’ve never been there. But when I do, I’ll make sure to bring my long board. I hope it’s not too long a wait out there in the river for the first set to come in. 🙂

Not sure about Detroit, but the next time you come to Montreal, make sure you bring your surfboard!

There are a number of natural, permanent waves in the St-Lawrence river, some located minutes from downtown Montreal, where you can ride waves as high as 2 meters, for hours on end, without actually moving forward. Not recommended during the winter months, however…

A lot to comment on here. I’ve been trying to figure out the location of the photoshoot, and I believe that it is on the very ESEastern tip of Belle Isle. The Detroit riverfront has changed considerably since 1967, and that along with the hazy day and blurry photos, makes for a difficult task to identify landmarks. Sighting down the river from the tip, you would see a portion of Ambassador Bridge, with no land showing to the left side of the photo, and with Downtown Detroit to the right (first photo). Assuming that the Camaro did not move, but the camera did, I believe that the building over the Brunette’s right shoulder is the Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Co. (second photo). There is just enough detail to identify the unique shape of the entry facade and the bookends, that and the fact that there appears to be large letters on the roof, although they are illegible in the photo. That building still stands; it is now part of the River Place complex. Over her left shoulder is a smokestack, which I think belonged to the Stroh Brewery Co. What would have been an easy read is if the (now) GM RenCen had been in place.
As for the car, the models, the theme… The Camaro looks like it got a George Barris quickie makeover, the models were probably from a local agency or maybe even from the GM ranks. Keep in mind that GM was still run by a conservative management, and even though they wanted to be “hip and with it”, they certainly didn’t want to offend the BOC buyers. Surfing was a big theme in ’66 / ’67. I was 12 in 1967 and my pals and I all wore white Levis, striped surfer shirts, and those ubiquitous at the time Iron Cross necklaces that had the surfer dude on the one side. We rode Schwinn Stingrays and thought that we were real “West Coast”.
1967 was, in my estimation, a Banner Year for cars and music. I was blown away by the sounds coming not only out of SF, but also Detroit, AA, and Flint, as other posters have mentioned. It was incredible how quickly the social landscape changed. One of my most favorite cars was the 1967 Pontiac GTO – even though it was only a facelift of the prior year, it just looked so much cooler.
Speaking of Social changes – I may have missed it, but nobody has commented on the riots that took place in Detroit that summer. I recall seeing the black smoke hanging over the city the Sunday morning of July 23rd. We lived in the suburbs at that time, but Mom and Dad felt it prudent to go to service anyway (Grand River at Livernois) just a few miles from West Grand and 12th St. Those events scattered across the country gave one pause – and still do.
A couple more things – what’s with the paint divide in the door jamb? The line doesn’t seem to line up with anything. Also… is she wearing heels, or standing on her tippy-toes?

Oops, I meant WSWestern tip of Belle Isle. I guess when I typed that I was thinking that when we travel from Detroit to Windsor “Our Neighbor to the North”, we cross the border in a SSEastern direction. Also, to answer my question, the newspaper clip that was featured just after my earlier post explained that the Camaro had a different color paint below the woodgrain – “Okra”. That’s the only time I’ve heard that descriptor as an automotive finish. Might have worked better on a kitchen appliance, I would think.
Thank you Sally, for the sleuthing!

^^^^My pleasure, Paul—I do enjoy this sort of sleuthing–and it was fun to see a 2012 column that was just a bit before I “found” CC and started dropping by. I do believe the swimsuit was perhaps a little modest for the time–but it looks like the sort of thing Dawn Wells or Sally Field would have been seen in on TV *if* they had a reason to be in a swimsuit. (Not gonna GIS that tonight.) 🙂

Before I quit: I remember those rectangular (Cibie?) lights from the “Sonny and Cher” custom ’66 Mustangs, which seemed so cool at the time; I just dug up pics of the cars online, and shook my head a bit in disbelief…..